Further Rambling And Musing On The Omega 4 1/2 Inch Hemptone Driver
I have over a 100 hours on these drivers and I have certain impressions I would like to share. I have these drivers in the Omega Bipole configuration, and I am driving them using the Red Wine Audio Sig 30. I have previously posted about the Bipole speakers (love them) so I will just concentrate on describing the sound of the drivers.
These drivers have been described as big sounding (Vinnie Rossi) and juicy sounding (by myself). I was listening to my system the other night, and in between being carried away to rhapsodic heights, I asked myself what do the drivers sound like? They sound good I said to myself. What do you mean good, good doesn't describe anything. Well, I said to myself, they are easy to listen to listen to. Well self I said again ( I talk to myself a lot, hopefully not out loud) why are they easy to listen to? Because I find myself relaxed when I am listening. Why can I relax? Because the quantity and quality of harmonic information that these drivers convey! All of the cliches are true. I hear the rosin on the bow, the wood on the upright bass, the burnished glow of the brass. I (my brain) does not have to work as hard to create the illusion of reality. The sound has a roundness and depth ; it is rich with information. Thus the terms big, juicy, sounds good come into play.
I have had the pleasure to be able to listen to three drivers that Louis has utilized. The Fostex, the Visaton B200, and now the Hemptone Driver. I have no trouble saying that IMHO the HempTone is better than the Fostex. The B200 driver is more analytical, but a wonderful driver in its own right. I, personally, am into juicy.